2.57/4.00

PHIL 132

Good guy, tries to teach philosophy to his students in a way that they will understand. Hard class but willing to work with you. Good to visit during office hours. Nice guy.

FORL 138

5th Year Senior
B
Required (Major)
Nov 2016

What the guy/gal below said. Amen. I too took this class and have long since graduated from Poly, but I was cruising Poly Ratings for a kick and thought that I should pipe in and let you know how much of a joke this prof is.

PHIL 230

Sophomore
B
General Ed
Dec 2005

This class is HARD. Graziano was a good teacher, but the material is really hard to grasp. Lectures are kind of dry, but once you get the concept, they could get pretty interesting. My suggestion for this class would be to participate. It helps keep the lecture interesting and he likes to have the class participate.
He gives you a study guide for the midterm, and all the questions come directly from the study guide.... so you know what you're getting into. But it's a lot of studying and overall, a pretty hard test.
The final is easy, though. He gives you 8 essay questions a few weeks before the test. 5 of those questions are on the final and you only have to write 3 of them. So it's not that bad.
Other than the midterm and the final, there are only 3 essays and they aren't too bad.
If you're interested in philosophy, I would definitely recommend him as a teacher. If not, he can be a hard teacher. You definitely won't leave that class without knowing something about philosophy, though.

Senior
B
General Ed
Mar 2006

this guy is a piece of shit. probably one of the worst teachers i have ever had. class isnt worth going to

Sophomore
B
General Ed
Jun 2009

he is cute and entertaining. but... he's a hard grader on the two papers that count for 60% of your grade. even if youre a good writer, it's still really hard to get an A on the papers. I wanted this class to boost my GPA like genEds should, but it didn't. other than that, it wasn't a bad class.

Sophomore
N/A
General Ed
Mar 2010

As far as being cool goes, Rich is the man. But he is super tough and there were times when I wish I hadn\'t taken him and did the big lecture instead. I feel like unless you really love Philosophy and are good at it then don\'t take him. He does make you think in ways you never did before which is cool, but I honestly wish I took someone easier. He\'s very arrogant and can make you feel like an idiot when you ask or answer a question which sucks, but at the same time he is a fun and good teacher. Worth taking? Only if you really like Philosophy and want to test your mind then he is good, but if you\'re looking for an easy class, look elsewhere.

Junior
D
General Ed
May 2010

My least favorite professor i have ever had at cal poly.
He typed up a four page description of what he wanted you to write the first (up to three page) essay about, and although i followed directions to the t, got a D- and the only comment he wrote was \"this looks like a grocery list.\"
I found him to SEEM like a cool, understanding professor, but when it came down to it, the lectures were very vague, ambiguous, unorganized and hard to follow.
Two papers assigned, pop quizes about once a week (you have to memorize the handout from the previous class to be able to answer), and haven\'t taken the final yet. Not looking forward to it.
TAKE A DIFFERENT TEACHER

Sophomore
B
General Ed
Jun 2010

class is too hard for a GE gives out 2 essays that are probably the worst assignments ive ever had pop quizzes every week that u have to memorize his handouts to even have a chance ..... dont take this class unless ur trying to spend ur whole quarter struggling over a pretty boring/useless topic

Junior
B
General Ed
Jun 2010

Phil 230 is such a useless class, half the time i feel like graziano is making the course notes up and the other half i\'m bored to sleep. He has two essays both of which he writes longer prompts for us then he actually wants you to write. The pop quizzes force you to go to class although even those are very difficult and you must read and memorize all the handouts to pass them. Although I don\'t completely blame the horrible class on Graziano but more on the coursework, I would highly suggest taking 231 or finding some other alternative.

Senior
A
General Ed
Jun 2010

I\'m not really sure what the kids below me are complaining about. The lectures were interesting, the essay prompts were extremely clear (who cares if they\'re long essay prompts?), and there was almost no work outside the class. Oh, and the quizes were super easy. Just listen in class and you\'ll ace most of them. If you have a genuine interest in learning and consider yourself at least an average writer, you will do fine in his class.

Junior
C
General Ed
Jun 2010

He is a super nice guy- but not a very good teacher.

Freshman
B
General Ed
Jun 2010

Surprised I did so good in his class. Was expecting an F and got a B with a little hard work. Its a little boring but its def just like any other class that you cant slack in. Most of the below ppl just wanted easy grades for a subject they thought was going to be cake. so ignore that. Just focus on the essays, go to every class and review the handouts and youll be fine

Junior
Credit
General Ed
Dec 2010

So, here\'s the bottom line: Philosophy isn\'t exactly the most riveting subject in the world and, depending on the professor, it can be the most confusing class you\'ve ever taken. So do yourself a favor and take Graziano. The books he assigns are relatively cheap (about 30 bucks total) and he explains every subject very clearly. The class gets a bit repetitive, so Graziano\'s examples and enthusiasm really help the class to be at least somewhat entertaining.
The class is only two 3-pg essays and a 50 multiple choice question final (I took one of the smaller classes, not a giant lecture). Please, do yourself another favor and take the class pass/fail. It makes it a lot more enjoyable that way.

Junior
F
General Ed
Mar 2011

This professor should NOT be an instructor here.
It is a crying shame taxpayers support these clowns that contribute nothing towards the well being of the college save force students and faculty to abide to their politically correct philosophies from hell. Every single class is a two hour headache of human worship where this particular professor is seen forcing students to take pages and pages of hand written notes later to give poor grades to all the students. he says, "just turn in your paper with your empl id and leave out your name", as if we're all stupid enough to think that because you turn in the papers without your name it's somehow impossible for him to look up the id# on the roster- he is completely biased, completely intolerant of student's thoughts, impatient, and on top of that, doesn't even know what he's talking about. He just name drops philosophical theories he read the night before as a reason why you're wrong and he's right. This course is a COMPLETE waste of everybody's time. even the professor is wasting his time. the college needs to cut this course, or re-evaluate their goals as to why exactly willing and able students should have to waste their time.

Sophomore
Credit
General Ed
Mar 2011

He is a nice guy but he tries to give you an insane amount of information. The only grades were two papers and the final, and he is a really strict grader on the papers. The dry material makes it very difficult to pay attention in class especially for two hours. I would suggest taking this course in a big lecture so that the grading is easier, unless you are really into philosophy, if thats the case he could be a good teacher for you.

Sophomore
N/A
General Ed
Mar 2011

Graziano is an interesting guy and his lectures are engaging, but he absolutely sets you up for failure. He gives you no chance to build a grade in his class. You have two essays and a final, THAT'S IT. His grading on the essays is tough, but what is really awful is the way he gives feedback on the papers. Every comment is numbered on a rubric and he simply writes numbers that correspond to a cookie cutter comment by the side of your paragraph. This is SO pretentious and elitist. It assumes all of our writing falls within these ten "common mistakes". He claims its is effective and saves him time, but really it just reveals his laziness and lack of appreciation for original work. It gets better, if you didn't write a "include comments" on the top of your paper you got nothing but a letter grade back. That's really constructive, thanks.
By the time you get to the final, you have one horrible essay grade worth 1/3 of your grade, no idea what his testing style is because you've never even had a quiz, and a 5 page study guide. You would think a study guide is a gracious effort on part of Mr. Graziano but NO. His multiple choice questions are written by Lucifer. Letter E is always "two or more of the above", what kind of bullshit is that?! And the questions are painfully specific and misleading.
The sad thing is, he could be a really great teacher, but the way his class is currently structured is a death trap.

Sophomore
Credit
General Ed
Jun 2012

Graziano was honestly one of my favorite teachers at Poly so far. He usually lectured for the whole time but class time was always open for questions and discussions. Yes, the midterm was very hard. But the final was WAY easier. Don't freak out if you do poorly on the midterm because you can easily bring your grade up. He was always available and super helpful in office hours too, so take advantage of that. Take Graziano for sure!

Freshman
B
General Ed
Aug 2012

Graziano is a great professor! Even though PHIL 230 is a pretty difficult subject, he did his best to present the material clearly and make it interesting. His lectures are engaging and held my attention (pretty impressive for a class from 4 to 6 pm). Graziano is very helpful during office hours and overall a really nice guy. He can seem a little intimidating at first because he usually challenges everything people say in class, but that's just his style and he always tries to make people think more deeply. The midterm and final are difficult and I found the weekly pop quizzes a bit challenging, but he curves grades which helps a lot.

Freshman
B
General Ed
Feb 2013

Considering the work I put into this class, then barely getting a B-, I wish I took this class CR/NC. I honestly put in insane amounts of effort to master the concepts for the quizzes and tests with no avail. Graziano was VERY picky with the way you worded your short answer/essay responses on tests, and his quizzes were very tricky, as one of the multiple choice options would usually be "more than one of the above" in addition to "all of the above" and "none of the above". Often times I was very intimidated to participate in class, because I felt that he regarded students' questions about the subject as a challenge to his interpretation of the material. To me, this was frustrating, because I pictured a philosophy class as one that would welcome debate over ideas that are not meant to be viewed in one definite way or another. I also got tired of him trying to glorify his life by trying to relate his obscure pastimes and hobbies to the course material, which often involved activities that most students could not relate to such as motorcycle drag racing, scuba diving, traveling to islands unheard of by most, specific philosophical research and ice climbing. He would then act stunned when he would survey the class, asking who also partook in his same pastimes, and little to no hands were raised. I'll also add that after our first midterm, he criticized the entire class' writing ability, stating that he did not read a single well-formed paragraph. He continued, claiming that Cal Poly has a bad reputation for producing terrible writers *especially* in the engineering departments. Even if I had taken this class CR/NC, I still would have found myself very annoyed, confused, and bored during lecture. If possible, just get your GE Area C2 fulfilled at a community college.

Junior
B
General Ed
Sep 2013

Watch what he does, not what he says. Tests are completely subjective, although he believes he is the godsend of objective reality. You turn in your journals the last day of class just so he doesn't have time to put any thought into your journal prompts. Phony

Sophomore
N/A
General Ed
Mar 2014

If this rating is strictly based on the professor, Graziano really deserves an A. He acknowledges the fact that this class is pretty hard, but he is such an intelligent, articulate and interesting guy that if you really pay attention in class, the work should be no problem. He also happens to be a pretty chill guy, but overall, he really made an effort to make the material engaging, which I appreciated.

Sophomore
N/A
General Ed
Dec 2016

Do not take this professor!!! He is SO disorganized and unclear about what he wants from your essays and homework. And he is an incredibly difficult grader. His lectures are so disorganized and hard to follow, he writes all over the board and changes his mind and retracts statements a lot, everyone in class would just look at each other like what's going on??? He is also so boring. From the looks of him- younger guy with tattoos and long hair, you'd think he's a cool professor. But, he is soooo boring. I sat next to and befriended a fourth year Philosophy major in the class and he also said he's the worst philosophy professor at Cal Poly. Do yourself and GPA a favor- stay away!!

Sophomore
N/A
General Ed
Mar 2017

Definitely not an easy A, but Graziano is a nice guy who wants you to understand the concepts he presents. Generally, he does a solid job explaining the material, and while some of my classmates thought his lectures were tedious, I thought that they were thought-provoking and engaging. Definitely take if you want to challenge yourself.

Junior
N/A
General Ed
Mar 2017

Graziano is a great professor. Very passionate about his subject, and definitely understands the struggle of a student who has never had a philosophy class in their life.
However, this class is not an easy A. The material can be difficult and confusing, but Graziano tries to help you through it. Not for the weak-hearted. Take his class if you want to be challenged in your beliefs and schoolwork, but if you're worried about your grade (he's reasonable, but there are only a few assignments, and if philosophy isn't your cup of tea, you're in for a rough ride) take it Pass/Fail or Credit/No Credit. I wish I had; it would have decreased my stress load significantly.

Sophomore
N/A
General Ed
Nov 2017

This class is A LOT of material, but Graziano thoroughly covers every topic and moves at a very reasonable pace. This class focuses more on methodology, which I love, because it's not simply listing or regurgitating facts. The discussions and questions that he poses will really blow your mind and open yourself to perspectives and ideas you've never thought of before. I highly recommend this class and professor if you're looking for good discussion, debate, and in-depth analysis.

Sophomore
Credit
General Ed
Nov 2017

Super chill guy. He does his best to keep lectures interesting and he's pretty successful in doing so in my opinion. He obviously cares about his students and wants them to do well. Super smart guy too and really knows his stuff about philosophy; no bullshit from his part so A+ teaching.
As to the class, it was a little repetitive but interesting. I'm glad I took it. Gave me a different way of thinking about things, especially since the majority of my courses are all STEM related. Learned a lot from this class.

PHIL 231

Sophomore
C
General Ed
Dec 2007

Face it, engineers don't care about Philosophy. However, this guy loved it to the fullest, and actually made Philosophy very interesting. But no.. I didn't care anyways. Barely got along without reading any of the material and just paying attention in the class. He had random small pop quizzes, covering material that you either easily knew or just didn't know. (Basically all or nothing.) No midterms, just two term papers and an easy final. For the final, he gave us a study guide of a bunch of questions, and the final simply covered the material on the study guide. As a person, he's really clear and lax.

Senior
B
Elective
Jan 2008

Either you see it his way or not at all. Most boring, confusing lectures I've ever attended, and generally walked out of class wondering why I'd bothered. Graded on hard, nitpicky essays, pop quizzes on obscure tidbits from the reading and/or lecture, and a multi-choice final. 25% of grade for first essay, but he refuses to review drafts. He gives a study guide for the final, all right, but neglects to mention that over 1/3 of the material on the final is not on the study guide. Expect to do tons of complex reading, much of which, if you keep up with the prospectus, will be a waste of time when he gets behind schedule. Don't sit near the front if you're sensitive -- he uses students as examples -- e.g. "Let's say Tiffany had an abortion ..." I loved Philosophy at Cuesta, but this experience turned me off the subject completely.

Freshman
B
General Ed
Mar 2008

Graziano is such a great guy! Yea, the class is going to be hard if you don't put effort into it, but if you go into his office hours and pay attention in class it can be great. He is totally willing to go above and beyond to help students and he really wants you to understand the material... plus he's passionate about philosophy. If you attend every lecture and pay attention, you will do well on the tests and remember to GO TO HIS OFFICE FOR HELP ON THE ESSAY! I could not have gotten by without doing that. Great class overall though!

Freshman
B
General Ed
Mar 2008

Professor Graziano is an awesome dude; he looks like an aged college kid and he does extreme stuff like rockclimbing. Uhhh, for this class, we wrote two papers, had mini quizzes, and took a multiple choice final. The papers took a lot of time for thinking through the problem. I really suggest taking a good 4-5 days to think and 2 days to write. I spent maybe 16 hours total on my first paper and got a B-. Try not to take his 8-10pm class because it's hard to stay awake, but take any of his other classes. He's very passionate about philosophy and has some funny stories to tell. Ask him about his childhood, haha. Even though Graziano was a good teacher, reading Kant totally turned me off from philosophy, so I'll never take philosophy again. Hooray!

Junior
B
General Ed
May 2008

Philosophy. It's a class of critical thinking, sounds easy, but it's harder than you think. Definately a class of intensive thinking. Professor Graziano is an exceptional teacher. I thought the class was going to be difficult to stay awake in, i'm not sure if it was his teaching style, or the frantic notion of trying to comprehend what was said 5 minutes ago that makes the class standable. Overall if I had to take the class I would definately take it again with Graziano.
There was two papers. Both of which required a lot of time to think. Go to office hours - No joke. I'm not an office hour person, but it definately helped clarify atleast to give some direction in where to be writing. There's a multiple choice final. And a quiz about once a week on general issues covered. If you don't get them right it's fine, just try to get atleast 50% right for your own good. The most substantial amount of your grading is the papers so don't slack off and give yourself ample amount of time to write them.

Sophomore
A
General Ed
May 2008

I loved Graziano. I have a little background in philosophy so it made his lectures a little easier to understand, but he's great about explaining concepts as long as you are willing to ask questions. Overall, the class isn't too hard as long as you're a decent writer and know how to apply philosophical concepts to physical actions. Not too bad for a GE! Plus, he's a cutie!

Freshman
B
General Ed
Jun 2008

Graziano is a really nice guy one-on-one, but I don't recommend this class at all. He basically turned a cool thing like philosophy into a complete headache. he made it like a math or science class where there is only ONE RIGHT ANSWER. I'm no philosophy major, but I'm pretty sure that the reason why we read so many different philosophers is because different people think different things and there are many right answers to moral questions. I was afraid to ever speak in class because Graziano would tear apart students for trying to counter arguments. He would try pretty hard to make certain kids feel stupid if they didn't accept what he said. So our in-class discussions were pretty lame because only 2 or 3 kids had the balls to take his verbal attacks. He is also a very harsh grader on the two essays. His comments on my essays were mean and completely contradicted things he said in his lectures. He is really arrogant--once he actually said to us, "I prefer that students don't attempt to use quotes in their essays at all because they never know how to do it right."
oh, and during the final i was confused about one of his poorly worded questions so i brought it up and asked him to clarify. I had the right answer written underneath the question. He purposely tricked me into changing it. WHO DOES THAT?
He's arrogant, and this class is really hard. His lectures are total gibberish because he tries to make them sound as sophisticated as possible--but fails. His pompous diction would confuse anyone. take some one else.

Junior
B
General Ed
Nov 2008

Philosophy is a tough course, period. But Graziano made the subject interesting and easy to relate to. you definitely need to set time aside for this class, but as i look back on it, it was a great class and he did his best to help you if you had problems. take this class!

Sophomore
A
General Ed
Nov 2008

Graziano is a great professor...probably my favorite at Cal Poly so far. Granted, the class was a challenge, but I think that's the nature of the subject. If you show up to class and participate (make sure you contribute to the discussion) and take good notes, you should be fine. Memorize everything on the study guides he gives you and you will be mighty relieved when you look at the actual exam...it was almost identical to the study guide when I took this class. Be sure to start the papers early; they can be challenging and they need to be well thought out and written well. Don't slack on them. If you do all of this you should be fine. Also, office hours are VERY helpful, and plus, Graziano is just a cool guy to talk to.

Junior
C
General Ed
Dec 2008

The Graz is an excellent professor. He's quite knowledgeable and easy to talk to regarding philosophy and rock climbing. Philosophy is a challenging subject to comprehend, but if you have any questions just ask him. You have a pop quiz every week and two short papers with a final. Don't expect to be handed an A, you'll be doing some work, but taking his class was enjoyable and I learned a lot. He's a fair professor and I recommend him.

Junior
B
General Ed
Apr 2009

TAKE THIS GUY!! Graziano is one of my favorite teachers I've had at Cal Poly so far! He's quite entertaining so class stays lively, and when its a dull moment he'll do some random act of crazy and get your attention again. He gives a few pop quizzes (about once a week) but if you paid attention at all during the previous lecture its an easy A on those. Then you have 2 or 3 papers which can be difficult but if you go to office hours he's a ton of help. As far as the reading, try to do it, but he goes over all of it in class so not a huge deal. Overall very fair and I wish he didn't teach Phil so I could take him again.

Sophomore
B
General Ed
Feb 2010

Graziano is a really cool guy and a good professor. The class gets really interesting at times, and I found myself excited to go most days. He is really easy to talk to and very helpful in office hours.
My main problem with him was his reluctance to give out A\'s on the two papers he assigns. He told us he had given out some ridiculously low number in his whole teaching career. I consider myself a good writer and still, the highest grade I was able to earn was a B+. Admittedly, his expectations for the papers were EXTREMELY clear and although the papers were challenging, I learned a lot and was able to improve upon my writing skills.
Besides the papers, we only had one test, which was the final, and it wasn\'t too difficult. He gives a study guide that is very helpful, but its definitely one of those classes where you have to stay on top of the reading and lecture material at all times.
I would definitely recommend him as a professor, just be aware that it won\'t be a cake walk. You will learn a lot but you will have to do some work.

Sophomore
A
General Ed
Mar 2010

I really liked this class a lot! Don\'t get me wrong, it wasn\'t an easy A. Professor Graziano did make it fun though! He was always dancing around and doing funny stuff to get our attention. The subject matter seems far-fetched at first, and difficult to grasp, but I suggest you pay attention in class and take good notes; it\'ll help. Make sure to read the hand-outs that he gives you before class because there is a quiz on them once a week! There are 2 papers and it takes about a week to figure out what the prompt even says. GO Talk to Him in OFFICE HOURS! It will help a ton! It\'s not easy to get A\'s on the papers; it definitely helps if you\'re a good writer. To my knowledge- lots of people got D\'s on their papers. Yikes. The final is 50 questions, multiple choice and he is upfront with you that the average is 64%. Study for it! Know the definitions and how to apply them. He gives a study guide, so do it, and memorize the answers and applications and you should do fine. All in all, I really enjoyed this class and do not plan on sticking my head in the sand when it comes to psychological skepticism. This class is really eye-opening! Take Rich Graziano if you wanna learn something!

Sophomore
A
General Ed
Mar 2010

I hated his class. He gave out quizzes which most people failed, the only reason I didn\'t was because my friend was in the class before. It was super unfair. He\'s just obnoxious and full of himself. No I am sorry but you are not God\'s gift to the world Dick Graz. His first essay of bs but if you go to his office hours he will let you rewrite it. He doesn\'t tell you what he wants in the essays but if you go to his office hours and spend 8 hours talking to him he will basically tell you what he wants, which takes 15 minutes, however you have to sit through the other 7 hours and 45 minutes of him telling you how amazing he is and how he is writing AMAZING philosophical papers. I didn\'t think there was anyway I was getting an A but he basically didn\'t grade the last essay. He had 3 classes and managed to grade all of the papers within a week? Aka he didn\'t really even read them. Moral of the story, he sucks but his class is bearable. You don\'t really ever have homework, half the time I didn\'t even do the reading I just took notes or sparknoted it. Just do to his office hours and find out what he wants you to write the paper about, because he doesn\'t tell you in class and you\'ll be fine-ish

Sophomore
B
General Ed
Dec 2010

Graziano was a very engaging lecturer. The material is tough to understand, but he\'ll spend lots of time trying to explain it to you. We wrote 2 papers (weighted 25% and 40%), both of which are difficult because of page limits; however, he said that if you did better on the second paper, he\'d weight 65% towards the second grade and ignore the grade you got on the first paper. You take a bunch of pop quizzes worth 2 points each, 5% of the total grade. The final was tough as hell. It was 50 MC questions worth 100 points. He does give you a study guide. Overall, this class was okay. I wouldn\'t recommend nor tell anyone not to take this class.

Senior
N/A
General Ed
Dec 2010

We have to take this class to fulfill a GE requirement, and Graziano makes it more difficult than it should be. He is obsessed with dipping babies in concentrated hydrochloric acid, don\'t ask me why. Everything the previous person said is spot on. The papers I turned in would have received A\'s in any other class, but Graziano thought otherwise. Take this class credit/no-credit if you have the chance, or don\'t take it at all.

Sophomore
Credit
General Ed
Dec 2010

Take someone else if you can. The lectures can be semi-interesting, but mostly they\'re just extremely boring. He can ramble on for the entire two hours and you\'ll have no idea what he was talking about the whole time. There are two essays, which are on extremely ambiguous topics and he grades them ridiculously hard. The final is multiple choice and he gives you a study guide, but I still felt completely unprepared while I was taking it. I was really scared that I wouldn\'t receive credit for the course even though I took it Credit/No Credit. Thank God I did so I will never have to take another Philosophy class. But seriously, if someone else if available, go for them. If not, take the class Credit/No Credit.

Junior
B
General Ed
Dec 2010

All the reviews below are right about Rich grading essays tough. He assigned two and I thought I wrote some of my best essays in college and I got a C and B- on the two papers. Ended up with a B in the class. All that being said, Rich really cared about making class interesting. He makes you write a lot of notes, but I still liked the guy. I learned a lot and he challenges you to think logically through whatever you believe. For a GE, it\'s tough but worth it if you want to get something out of your GE\'s.

Junior
B
General Ed
Jun 2011

I really liked Graziano. He was really funny and used hilarious examples when trying to demonstrate concepts in class. Yes, he was really picky about how he wanted his essays written, but if you followed his easy instructions, you shouldn't get a bad grade. Just go to class, take notes, and follow instructions and you should be fine. I really enjoyed this class.

Freshman
C
General Ed
Aug 2011

Prof Graziano is really nice and very interesting, but it is nearly impossible to do well in this class if you're not a philosophy major. No matter how many hours I put into my essays I couldn't get anything higher than a C. He truly is an interesting and fun teacher, but unless you are somewhat advanced in philosophy I wouldn't recommend his class.

Sophomore
B
General Ed
Apr 2012

I don't know what everyone is talking about on here, Richard Graziano is a pretty amazing instructor!
His class is pretty straight forward, a reading journal due at the end that's basically did you write in here? and you get a grade, a written midterm (which is pretty rough, I will admit, he grades written questions really hard!), but then he was awesome and made our final multiple choice and said if we did better on it than our midterm than it was worth a lot more than he originally said, pretty awesome.
As for his teaching style, I think it's great. I thought I would totally hate and be bored with ethical philosophy but he made it so interesting! He thinks of the most amazing examples to get you to understand and some pretty hilarious ones too! Also, a big plus for me, all of the notes for the class he actually wrote on the board and you had to go along with him. I cannot stress how much better this is than having some powerpoint slides that are available online to which I go "Ok, then why should I pay attention in class?". However, this makes you pay attention, which I think is great and doesn't make you feel like the class is some big time waster.
As a plus, he's an all-around really interesting guy, his life amazes me.
Double plus, for the ladies, he's pretty dang attractive too, I must say.
Anyway, that's my take on Rich Graziano. :) I enjoyed the class a lot more than I thought.

Junior
N/A
General Ed
Feb 2013

Rich is an fantastic professor. I'm a business major who couldn't have asked for a better introductory philosophy ethics course. He's an instructor who has a passion for what he does, and that in itself is a gift that I wish for all of our professors here at Cal Poly. If your enthusiastic about the material and interested in how we conduct ourselves in our daily lives, I guarantee you will enjoy learning the theories of J.S. Mill, Immanuel Kant, and Plato.
I was hesitant at first sight on taking this course just based on Polyratings, but my roommate who just graduated and a good friend of mine who is a mechanical engineer influenced me to test the waters and I'm extremely grateful that they had positive things to say about Graziano. Unfortunately, Polyratings will usually get the best and worse of extremes to influence you on a course which had lead me into trouble in the past.. With that in mind, I hope that you can see beyond the outliers too. By far one of the most open teachers you will find at Cal Poly, and if you have the chance to get your feet wet, go for it. You can't know until you try.
And thank you Rich. I've learned that my biggest moral obligation is to be myself

Sophomore
B
General Ed
Dec 2013

I was actually really surprised with how positive the polyratings for professor Graziano were. Perhaps he was just a poor educator this quarter because he underwent a divorce and lost his father within a month (resulting in two weeks of cancelled class and skipping Plato altogether). However, I really did not enjoy my time in Graziano's class and came out of the course with a dislike for Philosophy. He would claim that his class was very straightforward, and that if you followed the material he gave there would be no trick questions and everything would be straightforward. However, his study guides would contain things he never covered in class and his exams would cover things that were not placed on the study guide. So much for "if you complete the study guide you will not have a single question on the exam". The exams would also be full of trick questions, based on technicalities of memorization. For example, there is a moral philosophy called the "ought-implies-can principle" and this principle states that morally, you ought to do something only if you can do it. So, for example, if you see a cat stuck in a tree and you have the ability to save it, but do not save it, you are acting immorally. The exam question for the "ought-implies-can principle" was "The ought-implies-can principle suggests: A) you ought to do something if you can do it B) you ought to do something only if you can do it C) none of the above D) all of the above.... talk about a memorization technicality! I thought that philosophy was about thought, but his exams were just about memorization technicalities, some questions only varying by a word! This is not the way that I appreciate being educated or tested. His lectures were not clear as he did not write on the board enough and often he would just ask vague questions and tell you how you're wrong when you answer. He doesn't post grades so you have no idea how you are doing in the class and I can't help but say I felt directionless all quarter. Take this class as your credit/no credit class so you don't have to endure the pain I did. But what a shame when you teach a class that you purposely make so complicated that everyone takes it credit/no credit so they don't actually have to learn the material.

5th Year Senior
Withdrawn
General Ed
Jan 2014

I am a fifth year student, not because I'm a slacker, but because I'm in landscape architecture. I'm a good student; I have a 3.3 GPA. Graziano is a D(below average) professor. I withdrew from his Ethics class after taking frivolous notes for two days. He brought up about 25 concepts during the second session and went off on 10 tangents. I kid you not, I counted. His lectures are hard to follow and his ego is out of control. Take philosophy in a lecture hall. Don't take this "philosopher" ...

Sophomore
B
General Ed
Mar 2014

This class was not as bad as people said. He gives you 3 writing assignments due at the end of the quarter which are hand written 1-2 pages. There is only one midterm and one final and quizzes once a week that aren't worth very much. He gives you a study guide with questions for both of them. All I did was answer the questions and managed to get a B. Check Quizlet, some people posted most of the study guide questions on there. Easy to pass this class, difficult to get an A.

Freshman
B
General Ed
Jun 2014

Graziano is an excellent professor. He everything he can to engage his students and in my opinion, was very successful at that. You can easily tell that he is passionate about his work and does a great job getting his students interested in it as well. If you review your notes before class, take time to answer all the questions on the study guides, and ask him any questions during office hours you are almost guaranteed at least B. Like most classes, you would have to really put a lot into it to get an A. I highly recommend visiting his office hours, especially if you are having trouble getting started on any of the journal prompts. He will help you get a good idea going, and his office hours just make for really interesting conversations. Overall, I'd recommend Graziano to anyone, and if you're in his class, enjoy!

Freshman
A
General Ed
Feb 2015

Take Graziano, so far he's been my favorite professor I've had at Cal Poly. I always looked forward to his class because he made it interesting and easy to follow. I liked how he was interested not in the stances you took on topics, but why you chose those stances. It really helped me develop an unbiased mindset to evaluate situations. As for the course work, he tells you at the beginning of the quarter that his tests are based on what he lectures on in class and he's true to his word. If you write down what he puts on the board and study it, you will get an A (he also gives out study guide questions for the midterm and final that tell you everything you need to know!). Warning, he does give pop quizzes about once a week so take a few minutes to look through your notes before class starts everyday. I didn't really do the assigned reading, but he goes over it in class so it's not a big deal. There's also a couple writing assignments you turn in the day of the final about your perspective on moral subjects that are about 25% of your grade. Put in some effort and you'll full points for those. Overall, great teacher, great experience, and fairly graded course.

Sophomore
A
General Ed
Jun 2015

Graziano is the philosophical equivalent of someone finishing on your face. He spews info constantly for two hours whether you're ready or not, and after you're done you're almost convinced you liked it, but you would never admit it. He's a cool guy, and actually very interesting. Homie got a degree in physics and did 7 years as an Army Ranger, and although he never killed anyone he's a lady killer. Richard "Charlie Sheen" Graziano ended class early one day because he had a date. Dude skipped over Kants material because he wanted to get his nut. Thats gangster... I think. There is way too much info in this class, and you just feel like you got gang banged by a trifecta of Kant, Mill, and Platos old flaccid dicks. But he is a solid teacher who will always answer questions and does a good job using analogies to convey concepts. But truthfully, like I said, prepared for a warm, supple load of sticky philosophy in and around your face.

Sophomore
C
General Ed
Apr 2016

Rich is a great lecturer and discusses things in a meaningful and engaging way. I just had a hard time following concepts and would usually end up too lost to even ask a question about 15 minutes into class. I feel like Philosophy in general is so full of people overthinking things completely unneccesarily and confusing themselves. I sometimes wish we could just cut the BS and make discussions based on obvious stuff that has already been accepted so we could make some meaningful progress instead of debating if a water bottle is real or just what our eyes see. But either way, Rich is a great lecturer who knows his stuff, I just find issue with the superfluous and excessive nature of philosophy.

PHIL 314

Junior
C
General Ed
Jun 2017

His teaching style was all over the place. Seemed distracted, and didn't seem like he genuinely cared if we did well. Found him to be rude as well. Graded very harshly.

Sophomore
N/A
Required (Major)
Jun 2017

Rich is so knowledgeable on this stuff it's crazy. The cool thing is that there is no midterm for this class and instead you write three papers (four papers are assigned-- you can choose from the first two and then everyone has to do the last evaluative one) and the papers were interesting because the first two only needed to be a summation of the text in no more than three pages. The challenging part is you are not allowed to use any information outside of the hand outs he gives in class, his lectures, and the text itself to go off. This was pretty difficult but if you go to his office hours he's willing to help guide you through. He won't answer questions straight-up, but will help point you in the right direction. The final is an essay format but he gives you the questions before hand so if you use a study group to answer and compare, it's really not too tough. As a phil major, i found this class to be super valuable because it makes you interact and interpret the text yourself-- which, at first, seems daunting-- but he grades the papers with the knowledge you're doing it yourself, so you can still get a good grade if you get things wrong. This class wasn't a huge time commitment and I still feel like I learned a lot, so overall very dope!

PHIL 317

Junior
A
Elective
Mar 2011

Rich is by far my favorite professor at Cal Poly. He is very knowledgeable and passionate about philosophy, and sparks interest in his students through his creative approach to his lectures. In this class, Analytic Philosophy, we studied intricate theories and ideas, and were able to understand them with Rich's help. He is extremely helpful outside of class as well. He loves helping students during his office hours- I would highly suggest going to his office hours to just get to know him, and get help on the essays. Yes, his classes are challenging (I worked my butt off for a B in his 230 class). However, his high expectations stem from a respect for his students; he pushes you toward excellence. You will learn so much from Rich. He is fun, cool, and a very gifted teacher. I would highly suggest taking his analytic philosophy course, as it is a good foundation for understanding the problems we have amidst language and philosophy today.

PHIL 330

Senior
D
General Ed
Dec 2011

If only Richard Graziano wasn't so full of shit.all the time.
But boy, I'll tell ya, what a nice guy he is! What an interesting young man! Did I mention? How nice he is? His mother must be so proud. of him.

PHIL 412

5th Year Senior
B
Required (Support)
Jan 2011

I've had Graziano for a few classes. His 230 and 231 courses are not a joke. If you're trying for an easy A, don't take the guy. His lectures, however, are some of the most engaging and creative lectures I've ever had. He often relates the subject matter to real world problems in physics and other disciplines. He's a straight baller too. Climbs mountains and rides motorcycles. If you have to take Phil classes and don't mind a challenging course Rich is the way to go.